Now that #wspd has passed, I would like for all of us to ask ourselves: how do we treat those suffering with mental illness, addiction, or contemplating suicide?
We encourage people to speak up and ask for help, yet we continue to implicitly shame, blame, and roll our eyes when it comes to the topic of mental health unless it affects us personally.
We design systems where people have to be in their worst possible state before they can access help, and when they tell us they’re thinking about it suicide we use coercive approaches to detain them and lock them in wards that dehumanize them.
I work in this same system and frankly it sucks. Those suffering deserve better. Yet advocating for change can be difficult when there are powers interested in preserving the status quo.
After many years of advocacy I have concluded that the key to transformational change is inclusive leadership. Leaders who believe in decentering themselves and codesigning systems of care where patients and caregivers are decision makers.
No more excuses. No more empty promises. It is past time for us to make the system work in the ways that it needs to. How can we do it together?
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Dr. @JillianHortonMD starts with a very personal reflection that many of us can relate to... recognition that she (we) are often going through the motions of academic medicine, burning out, leaving 'garbage scraps' and a low feeling of accomplishment. #CCME2022
"What if this IS the story?"
Dr. @JillianHortonMD writes in the margins during an airplane ride...the realization that we ARE the story. If we have the courage to use our voice...
On my way to #CCME22 Look forward to seeing #MedEd folks in person soon in #YYC …This year I’m proud to be supporting 5 student collaborator presentations…
On Sunday #CCME22 in OA1-3 Khadija Ahmed will present on exploring how admissions stakeholders grapple with their biases. This one will be in person! Hope to see folks there.
also on Sunday #CCME22 Caitlin Loo will present on bias in dentistry education and Snow Wangding on how arts and humanities foster transformative learning.
Amidst increasing attention to the #mentalhealth of health workers, we explored how #stigma is understood/enacted in #MedEd. We learned that things are a lot more complicated than we thought. 🧵
We know #stigma can prevent help-seeking due to the risk/repercussions of disclosure. This topic has been well researched. See the article below and work of @drjessigold@KGoldMD for more details /1
Yet, the pandemic has brought the hero narrative to the fore, a sentiment meant to praise workers, yet may stifle conversations about distress, burnout, and help-seeking. See the important work of @drbreenheroes for more on this and Dr. Breen's story/legacy. /2
This week will mark the first #bellletstalk day since I have moved from Canada to the US. Now that I have begun a new chapter I want to share the story of the past 10 years of fighting for change in Canada. Buckle your seatbelts…this is a long thread 🧵
I grew up idealizing Canadian healthcare. I trained/worked in different countries yet moved back to Canada 10 years ago expecting something better than what I found. The truth is that Canadian decision makers have systematically neglected/underfunded mental health for decades. /1
I have witnessed the horrible consequences of a system that is built on a foundation of prejudice and discrimination against people with mental illness. I worked in busy inpatient units and emergency departments and watched those suffering offered blame instead of empathy. /2
We sought to examine the initial statements published by academic medical organizations in response to societal concerns about systemic, anti-Black racism.
Through discourse analysis of statements from US and Canadian medical schools and academic organizations we learned:
There was
tension between what was explicit v implied. a lack of critical reflection
lack of commitment to institutional accountability to specifically address anti-Black racism
Academia expressed “shock” about racism that was hardly shocking for many communities